Carbon and Schuylkill Counties are full of reminders of the heyday of anthracite coal mining. You can find culm banks, acid mine drainage, ravaged valleys, and mine subsidence. The mines brought not only jobs, but also environmental devastation that has outlasted those jobs by decades.
Pennsylvania is about to do it all over again. The techniques used to extract natural gas from the Marcellus shale formation are unregulated and environmentally destructive. Proposals to impose an extraction tax that could be used to mitigate the environmental problems have been rejected by the Corbett administration, although every other state--even Texas--imposes such a tax.
On April 28 at 7 p.m. at the Mauch Chunk Museum and Cultural Center at 41 West Broadway in Jim Thorpe the movie “Gasland” will be shown. “Gasland” details the unfolding disaster natural gas drilling is bringing to Pennsylvania. Tickets for the film, which was nominated for an Oscar, cost only three dollars, and students with an ID and a ticket will be admitted free.
If you would like a ticket, email <LAChris@ptd.net>. This a film worth seeing.
This documentary should be required viewing for all residents in the Marcellus shale region. The people need to know what is going into the water they consume and use. Don't be fooled by the likes of T. Boone Pickens and his pals. They don't seem to want to tell anyone what chemicals or how much they are using. It's easier to gloss over such trivial things.
ReplyDeleteThere is an article in today's Times News about investment opportunities that I found interesting. I have an idea for an investment opportunity, (Bottled Water), because you won't want to drink the water anymore. Just make sure the water isn't from the Marcellus Shale region.
But, you could sign a lease for $50,000 or $100,000 and buy a few vehicles or maybe pay off the mortgage but you still wouldn't want to drink the water.
Really, really think about the ramifications! Take another look at the Erin Brockovitch movie. Think!!!